The international police agency, Interpol, has issue a "red notice" for nations to be on the lookout for Julian Assange, the founder of the whistle-blowing website, WikiLeaks.

Assange is wanted in Sweden on suspicion of sexual crimes.

Assange, whose whereabouts are unknown, denies the charges and says they are part of a smear campaign.

Assange is in the international spotlight after WikiLeaks began the release of hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. diplomatic cables over the weekend.

Hoping to prevent future such leaks, the U.S. State Department has severed its computer files from the government's classified network. U.S. officials have launched a criminal investigation and accused the disclosers of waging an "attack" on the United States and the international community.

Meanwhile, links to the WikiLeaks website are reported to have been blocked within China.

Such blocks are not unusual in China. But analysts say WikiLeaks may have been singled out because of some of the assertions made in the leaked cables.

Those include that Chinese leaders are prepared to accept South Korea's eventual rule over the entire Korean peninsula and China's Politburo directed a cyber intrusion into Google.